Kings Fail

The Senate on Thursday rejected a bill--prompted by the verdicts in the Rodney G. King beating case--that would introduce racial demographics as a factor when a judge picks a different site for a criminal trial. The author, Sen. Milton Marks (D-San Francisco), took steps to revive the measure, but it could be running out of time as the Legislature's 1992 session winds down.

Five reasons to look on the brighter side of the Kings' elimination: 1. No agonizing loss in the second round. 2. A big refund for season ticket-holders. 3. At least the ride home was comfortable. 4. Well, Calgary didn't make it either. 5. Finally, the Kings will get a new general manager. JONATHAN MILLER Reseda

For the second Saturday in a row, a large group gathered in front of the Los Angeles Police Department's Foothill Division, which patrols the area where the infamous Rodney G. King beating took place. But unlike last weekend, this group did not denounce police brutality and demand the ouster of Police Chief Daryl F. Gates. These men and women were seeking to join the ranks of Los Angeles police officers.

If you are a valuable commodity on a struggling team and you get a call from your general manager late at night, you have to expect the worst. Except in Luc Robitaille's case. The night before the Kings lost to the New York Rangers, 4-1, at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday, General Manager Rogie Vachon called his high-scoring wing in his Manhattan hotel room.

A season that began with the unprecedented promise of four first-round draft choices and the savvy of the winningest coach in the NBA has turned sour for the Sacramento Kings. The situation reached such depths recently that Kings players sequestered themselves away from the media in a weight room for nearly 30 minutes after an 89-80 home loss--in which the Kings squandered a 15-point first-quarter lead--to the Minnesota Timberwolves.